Last night, while I was reading in bed, I heard wretching. Oh God! I hate it when people are sick. I thought it was coming from outside my bedroom door, and I jumped out of bed and followed the wretching sound. It was Tom, in bed, waking himself up from the throwing up. If there has ever been a more foul smelling vomit, I'll be surprised. Speaking of surprised, Tom was. He sat up with puke in his hair and all over his bed and just looked thoroughly shocked about the whole thing. I carried him to the bathroom where he puked some more into the toilet and kept saying things like, "Wow. This is weird, isn't it?" and "Hmm, this doesn't feel very good" but not once did he cry and not once did he scream at me to get out of the bathroom and leave him to suffer alooooooooooooone. (See: Hadleigh, Behaviour While Being Sick).
Cut to ten minutes later when he is in the bath and I am washing sick out of his hair. And washing sheets. And wondering if it is worth bathing him because he will probably do it again the minute I put clean jammies on him. Oh, yes, and explaining to him why he will not be sleeping in my bed for the rest of the evening. Ha! We slept in the guest bed together (it took him ages to get back to sleep, he just lay there, staring at my face) and then at five o'clock he woke up with the runs and couldn't get back to sleep till almost seven o'clock. That is what happens when you stare at my face for hours.
He doesn't get sick very often. In fact, I think he's had two ear infections in his life, and the worst thing that's ever happened to him was his allergic reaction to amoxycillin when he was 15 months old. That was terrifying! These are scary pictures. It was scary how fast it happened. One minute he was going down for a nap and looking like he was getting a rash, and three hours later he was covered, head to toe, in horrible rashes and was miserable. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. But we got through it. I'm not sure how, since he wouldn't sleep, hardly breastfed, and screamed for about two days straight until finally the E.R took us seriously when I said, "For Christ's sake! He is swelling up!!"
Last night was the first time he'd ever thrown up though (except for once when I put too much talcum powder on him after a bath and he breathed it in and then immediately barfed on me. That was sort of instinctive). So, of course, I couldn't send him to preschool this morning. I had to take him with me for my Blu-U treatment (yes, my face is still red, thanks for asking, I look insane. You already know what it did to me last time.). He was very good, and the staff commented on how sweet he is.
**sound of smug police arriving and arresting me for obnoxious and smug comment**
We then came home and lay comatose on the couch for a while while he insisted that he was not tired. I was, though! At about four o'clock, while I was in the middle of a phonecall, he came to the couch and crawled under the blanket with me. Two seconds later he was asleep, and stayed that way for two hours. Then he woke up, ate an enormous plate of pasta with sausage, drank two mugs of tea and we watched Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Or as it is known around here, "The Funniest Frigging Movie Ever Made. Probably" My kids just belly laugh every time they watch it.
So that was my day. Sounds fun doesn't it? Uh, perhaps not so much. I did scare the poor neighbour girl when she came to ask me if I'd buy something for her fundraiser. I look radioactive. I am not going to the gym looking like this either, so it's a book and bed for me.
Seeing as NaBloPoMo is almost over, I will not need all this crap I was looking at anymore. Old report cards, letters, diaries, certificates. Anything that can give insight into who I used to be before I became a wife and mother. I was actually quite a cool person! I won't copy out my old report cards, but I will just say that:
(a) My teachers used to LOOOOOVE me.
(b) They all said that my biggest talents were writing, drama and music.
(c) They all said I needed to have more confidence in myself.
(d) DUH!! So I should probably work on that, eh? Since I have been hearing it since 1984!
(e) Whoever wrote "Natalie could do even better if she listened more and chatted less" was obviously miserable old cow and not able to see my amazing talents.
**Closing up Bag O' Memories now**
My father-in-law is in the hospital with diverticil divertickalitus diverticulit some really whacked out colon thing. Man. This isn't cool. The last time he was sick, we didn't know if he was going to come out of it. Not only was it horrible and scary, and not only were we far away across an ocean, but I had just finished writing to him and telling him exactly why I thought he was a jerk (he's not) and why I was so mad at him and all I could think was, "OMG! He is lying there, probably thinking how much he hates me and wishes I had never married his son". When, can you believe this, he was actually lying there thinking, "I feel like shit. This sucks". Because apparently, it is not all about me! (I have not received a memo telling me as such, so until I do, I will continue to operate under the assumption that it is all about me after all). Hey, this is my blog, and if I say it's all about me, it totally is!!
Luckily, he had written back to me and I kept the letter. In my letter to him, I had told him that I didn't think he spent proper time with the kids when he visited us in Naples and that his overconfidence drove me nuts. (I am cringeing admitting what an ass I was). I asked him if he had any fears at all. I told him that he intimidated me. Bruce, I hope you don't mind that I print your response, because truly, it is one of the nicest letters I've ever had. And since then, despite me seeing your bum, despite times when we have not seen eye to eye (I still contend that mashed potatoes and corn are not too many starches in one meal!!), I think our relationship has improved. And I am thinking about you tonight, even though you're an obnoxious old coffin dodger.
Nat,
I think the best way to describe me is oblivious. Now whether that is good or not is a good question, but I am none the less oblivious. I thought you and I were doing great and now know that I wasn't doing so well. I love you and I love my grandchildren.
I have learned (although it is a mystery why to me) that I intimidate many people and project an air of confidence. I don't know why, but I am not bothered by people, and just assume that I am okay and they are okay and I realize that it is not always that way. I suppose that after dealing with people all my life that I just assume a posture of ease that is not the norm.
I also have learned that especially with children that they are better off warming up slowly to me because if I push with them they will tighten up and so I am better off just letting them be and later I can get a better response from them. I really enjoyed just watching Thomas putter around his living room playing, rather than freezing with a look of horror while I tried to make him sit with an old man he doesn't know.
Nat, I don't know if I have fears. I suppose I do, but I also learned early that they can't eat you. It will work or it won't, and there is something on the other side. I don't know that I can explain what exactly that I mean, but I just move through life assuming that I have a place and that the Lord didn't put me here to worry about what the result would be always but that it is important to do everything that is before me. Some things well, and some things not so well, but doing all of them like I know how to do them.
One of the things I have before me to do is earn the trust and love of a beautiful and talented daughter-in-law that my beautiful and talented son absolutely worships, and so far I have made a pretty spotty attempt at that.
I want you to know that I was awed to watch you this past week as you mothered two children like a master, nurtured my son like a master, speak the King's English and then turn around and speak Italian so well, serve as navigator in a complex foreign city and do it all with a smile on your face.
I know that you have many talents. I hope that one day you can come to understand that I love you, and realize that what comes across as confidence to you is just an awkward uneducated man that has had to learn to operate in the this world and hasn't always learned the smoothest way.
Again, I love all of you and enjoyed the week just watching a great family continue to grow.
Well, now I'm crying, and when your face is red and stinging like mine is, crying ain't the best thing to do. So on that note, I'm going to sign off.
PS) Have I mentioned how very very very sick I am of the sound of my own voice in the Blogosphere?
